By Milliam Murigi
Kenya has made significant progress in reducing child stunting over the past two decades.
The proportion of children under five years who are stunted has dropped from 38.6 percent in 2000 to 17.9 percent in 2025, according to the latest Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2025.
The sharp decline signals improved maternal health, better child feeding practices and expanded access to healthcare services.
“While the reduction in stunting is encouraging, we must remember that stunting cannot be reversed. A stunted child carries that burden into adulthood, which is why the goal must be to reduce it to zero not just lower the numbers,” said Edgar Okoth, Executive Director of SUN CSA, a local non-governmental organisation focused on ending malnutrition.
Stunting, is a form of undernutrition that happens when a child does not grow to the expected height for their age due to long-term lack of adequate nutrition and repeated infections.
But even as fewer children are stunted, Kenya is facing a troubling paradox: overall hunger is worsening. The same index places Kenya in the “serious” hunger category, indicating that millions of Kenyans about 37 per cent still struggle to access sufficient and nutritious food.
The country’s score has stagnated in recent years, reflecting limited progress in tackling broader food insecurity. In the index, Kenya ranks 103rd out of 123 countries, with a score of 25.9.
According to Okoth, the disconnect highlights a deeper, more complex crisis. While government and partners have invested heavily in maternal and child health programmes, the broader agricultural and economic systems have not kept pace.
Public investment in food systems remains relatively low compared to other sectors. Currently, only 1.6 percent of the national budget is allocated to the sector, despite the fact that agriculture contributes over 20 percent to the country’s GDP.
“There has been progress in health and nutrition programming. But food systems remain vulnerable. Smallholder farmers still face challenges accessing quality inputs, climate-resilient seeds and reliable markets,” he said.
According to Okoth, without urgent and coordinated action, Kenya risks falling behind in achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2, which aims to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture by 2030.
He emphasized that accelerating progress will require increased investment in food systems, strengthened policy implementation, and a multi-sectoral approach that addresses the underlying drivers of hunger, including poverty, climate change, and inequality.
Besides, there is also a growing consensus that innovation including modern biotechnology could play a role in reversing the hunger trend. According to Dr. Willy Tonui, Head of the Secretariat at the African Genetic Biocontrol Consortium, biotechnology offers practical solutions to some of the structural challenges driving hunger.
He notes that improved crop varieties can significantly enhance yields by growing more food on the same land, reduce post-harvest losses by crops being more resistant to pests and diseases and improve nutritional value by fortifying crops with essential vitamins and minerals. This is particularly critical in regions prone to drought and pest infestations, where traditional crops often fail, leading to food shortages and malnutrition.
“Modern biotechnology has the potential to transform food systems by making them more resilient, productive, and sustainable. Embracing science-based innovations, alongside supportive policies and investments, will be key to ensuring food security and moving closer to achieving zero hunger,” he said.
According to Okoth, it is now time for Kenya to recommit to achieving zero hunger. With 2030 just four years away, and new frameworks such as the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and the Kampala Declaration now in place, it is time to increase investment in agriculture and renew efforts toward achieving Zero Hunger.
“The progress on stunting proves that change is possible,” he says. “The challenge now is to scale that success across the entire food system so that all Kenyans not just children in targeted programmes have access to adequate food.”
